Technical Field
The invention relates to methods and apparatuses for inserting items into containers, in particular for filling larger cartons with packs, such as foil packs or soft packs.
Prior Art
The handling of bag packs (for potato crisps) and the filling of cartons with bags of this type is the subject of WO 2009/103441. This prior art concerns the positioning of the foil bags with delicate content in different formations within a large-volume carton in order to make the best possible use of its interior, yet, on the other hand, to avoid mechanical damage to the bags. The known apparatus is equipped with (two) robots, which alternately hold ready erected and opened cartons in a packing station for the insertion of the bags. The cartons can be presented by the robot in different relative positions subject to the position of the cartons being altered during filling to ensure different packing patterns of the bags. These are inserted (exclusively) by a slide via an obliquely directed plane of conveyance into the carton. The bags here lie on a likewise tilted belt, from which they are pushed by the transversely movable slide and pushed into the carton.